Case Number 14409

THE SECRET (BLU-RAY)

The Charge

Sometimes a gift can be a curse.

Opening Statement

"Let's just keep this between you and me for now. It'll be our little
secret."

Facts of the Case

Benjamin (David Duchovny, The X-Files) and Hannah (Lili Taylor, Six
Feet Under) are a very happy married couple. Things are going very well for
both of them, and they've never been more in love. They have a 16-year-old
daughter named Sam (Olivia Thirlby, Juno). Sam is a pretty normal
teenager, disregarding her parents and rolling her eyes perpetually. One tragic
day, Hannah and Sam are in a terrible car accident. Both are badly injured and
are placed in the same hospital room. By some strange coincidence, both come to
the edge of passing away at the very same time. As the doctors are frantically
attempting to rescue the mother and daughter, something very unusual happens.
Hannah's spirit somehow transfers to Sam's body. How did this happen? What
caused it? Where is Sam's spirit? Well, that's The Secret, isn't it?

The Evidence

An American remake of a Japanese suspense film? Wow, now there's an original
concept. Thanks to the box-office success of movies like The Ring and
The Grudge, we've had a whole host of Japanese horror/suspense/thriller
remakes over the past few years. I'll admit that I've only seen a handful of
recent Japanese films, but most of those who have a familiarity with the genre
insist that the American remakes are pretty much always inferior. I can't say
that I have ever heard someone say, "Hey, that new version was so much
better than that lousy Japanese version!" I sincerely doubt that The
Secret is going to do much to alter anyone's opinion on this recent trend.
Nonetheless, it should be noted that The Secret is a bit more engaging
than something like Shutter.

The concept here is an interesting one. It's essentially a spin on Freaky
Friday, this time using the concept for a psychological mystery instead of
laughs. Well, okay, there are actually some amusing moments. When Hannah (as
played by Thirlby) looks at her naked body for the first time, she is startled
to discover a tattoo that she never knew her daughter had. Another sequence
takes Hannah back to Sam's school, and Hannah worries that she may not be able
to remember enough information to keep up her daughter's A-minus grades. These
moments are among the film's most interesting scenes. Anyway, it's mostly
serious business here. It's also a little creepy, as Hannah (inside the body of
Sam) offers up declarations of romantic love for Benjamin. The movie addresses
this here and there and thankfully avoids going anywhere too terribly icky.

Benjamin isn't certain that Hannah is actually trapped inside his daughter's
body, so he tells her to keep it a secret until they can figure something out.
Benjamin is a little like Mulder here, pretty eager to believe that it's really
Hannah despite going through the motions of being skeptical. He begins to do
research on Hannah's condition, talks to Hannah about her new situation, and
learns some interesting scientific information. At some point during this, we
begin to feel like a little more ought to be happening. The film has a brief
running time of 91 minutes, but it still feels quite padded. You get the sense
that the movie is just wandering around in circles for a while, holding off on
delivering "the big finish" until the movie is long enough to be
honestly called feature-length.

Of all the Japanese horror/suspense remakes that have been offered up thus
far, I have to say that this one is probably the least worthy of being called a
"horror" or "suspense" film. Yes, there are some spooky
elements here during several key moments. However, for the vast majority of its
running time this movie is simply a drama about two people trying to work
through a confused and complicated situation. That's a good thing, because this
movie works best on that level. The increasing marital tension between Benjamin
and Hannah is handled quite well, as is Hannah's attempt at trying to find a way
to become comfortable with Sam's social life.

David Duchovny probably has the most screen time here. I can't decide
whether he's just bored or intentionally low-key, but I found his quiet presence
appealing. He approaches this farfetched situation with a slightly weary
acceptance. His performance sort of sets the tone for the movie, which is gently
intriguing and mostly uneventful. Duchovny's role is arguably a pretty easy one,
though. All he has to do is sit back and react to everything. Thirlby is the one
who has to make the movie work. Early on, she seems to be playing a version of
her character from Juno with a sour attitude. These scenes play up the
typical teenage stereotype a bit much, but Thirlby is really quite good when
she's playing a grown woman trapped inside a teenager's body. The only other
performance of note comes from Lili Taylor. She's fine, but isn't really given
enough time to make a big impression.

The Blu-ray transfer is fairly solid. Blacks are deep enough; the muted
color scheme is reasonably satisfying. Sound is appropriately low-key, with
Nathaniel Mechaly's muted score blending in unobtrusively with the dialogue and
sound design (interestingly, no less than four people are given key
"sound" credit). There are a few supplements included on the disc.
Some interviews with Duchovny, Thirlby, and Taylor are pretty interesting, as
each gives their take on the movie. Those interviews aside, there's only some
behind-the-scenes footage of the film's creation and a trailer.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Do I say something positive or something negative here? As you may have
guessed from reading the evidence, I'm a little ambiguous about The
Secret. It could potentially go either way, but I think the ending seals the
deal on my feelings. It's a curiously flat, uninvolving ending that simply
doesn't manage to make us care nearly as much as it ought to. The movie isn't
bad, but it leaves us with the overall impression that it wasn't worth the
time.

Closing Statement

The Secret is a respectably crafted flick with some solid performances
and a fairly interesting concept. Despite this, I can't really recommend it. The
movie just doesn't offer enough interest beyond the concept to make it worth
paying your hard-earned money for.